Week 4 of the 31 Days of Everyday Adventure challenge

We’re almost done with our Everyday Adventure challenge! It’s definitely been a challenging and rewarding experience so far, and I’m so happy that you’re all enjoying it.

I really enjoyed this week – it had some of the most fun activities, like having a conversation with strangers, and inventing a game with friends. We also did many other interesting challenges: read more below!

For this activity, I go to a small coffee shop near my house because I know that there’s fewer tables than people who want to sit down. After a few minutes of half-looking at the customers and half-reading (the book I checked out of the library last week during my day planned by a friend) I see a group of people looking for a place to sit.

They look friendly, and I have three extra seats at my table, so I go over to see if they want to share it with me, and I’m super pleased when they say yes. Then they see the book (History of Jazz) and think they’ve interrupted my studying, but I say no… I’m waiting to talk with random people like you. 🙂

We talk for a while about life, things to do in Seattle, my business and future plans, etc. It’s really fun and they’re very nice.

One of the people, L. is a professor at a nearby university, and her parents are visiting Seattle for a few days. They come twice a year (since 2004) and are struggling to think about things to do that they haven’t already done. It’s a good challenge to think about, and I end up making a big list of lesser–done Seattle activities (soon to be a blog post!).

I realize when I go home that by doing this activity in a coffee shop, I’ve also accidentally done one of my goal list items: Have coffee with a stranger! A blog post and list item accomplished – not bad for a few hours one morning! 🙂

Day 23: Make plans to do the thing that scares you

I believe – like stepping out of your comfort zone – you have to start small to practice for the moments that require bigger steps of courage, so I’m choosing something that I’m only a little afraid of and making progress on that.

Several years ago, I used to be terrified of spiders. I’m still a little afraid of them, but not like before. I used to be afraid to be in the same room as them.

I faced my fear in small ways. I learned about them: what they eat (it’s not people), how they make their webs, where they live, how they move, etc. I also told myself I’d stay in the room with them and not run away (even if I wasn’t ready to be the person who would do anything about the spider being there).

When I felt a bit bolder, I caught some in jars so I could see them up close, while knowing for sure I was safe. That was probably one of the biggest things that helped reduce my fear. It made me super nervous when I did it, but I was able to really look at them which helped me realize that even though they’re creepy, they aren’t terrifying.

(I still feel nervous if I see a spider and then lose track of where it goes, or if it actually ends up on me – mainly because I walk into spider webs a lot!)

I contact the Woodland Park Zoo and ask if they can arrange some kind of “spider experience” for me as a bucket list blogger. They said they’re going to look into it! I’m super looking forward to it – how cool (and unnerving) would it be to hold a tarantula?! [Edit: this happened. Here’s the story]

Day 24: Learn “Hello” and “Thank you” in another language

This is a fun one for me – I love languages! Today I learn “hello” (“kumusta”) and “thank you” (“salamat”) in Tagalog, because one of my best friends speaks the language and it always sounds really pretty. I’m still not quite sure about the pronunciation (tried learning from YouTube but can only get so far without feedback), so I’ll have to ask her the next time I talk with her.

Day 25: Pick a controversial topic and learn about both sides of the issue.

Usually I don’t like controversy or conflict, but I used to really like debate in high school. I can’t think of what issue I want to learn about today, so I go to ProCon.org and look at a few topics, and for no particular reason, decide to read about the school uniform debate.

Looking up the background and the various arguments was really helpful to get an idea of why people support different positions on this topic. I know I’m not directly affected by this anymore since I’m not in school and don’t have kids, but actually, I still see it as relevant. The core issues (equality, social interactions, belonging, and the ability to learn) are all things I care about and want for other people, especially school kids, because I remember it being difficult when I was that age and don’t want it to be difficult for them too.

Day 26: Invent a game with friends.

Making this a little more challenging, my friend S. and I decide to do a speed challenge to create a functional board game in 1 hour. It takes us 1 hour plus 2 min, but we’re able to come up with a functional game!! It’s way too difficult at first, but that changes as we started playing and clarify some of the rules.

I’m looking forward to taking it to my coworking office next time I go, because it’s also a creative studio for game designers, so I’ll use the supplies to make a basic skeleton-like version of our game so we can have other people try it! I’m so excited about this!

I’m trying not to think too far ahead and not put expectations that it’ll be sell-able, and to just enjoy it for what it is (this is hard because I have a related goal list item: Create a board game and have a game company sell it). –Do you have tips for how to enjoy the moment and process rather than getting caught up in future expectations?

Day 27: Send a note (a real one, not an email) to someone you haven’t talked with in a while.

For some reason, it takes a while to decide who I’m going to write to. Once I finally think of the person, it’s not at a moment when I can write. Then, right before bed I realize that I’ve forgotten to write the note today! Oh well, tomorrow. No mail on Sunday anyways. I think this happened the last time I had a challenge activity involving mail…

Day 28: Enter a contest for something you like doing. If there isn’t one, start one.

I’m running late this week, apparently. Even though I manage to pick the contest (a monthly 53-word story contest), I don’t have time today to write the entry, so once again this week, I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to finish this activity. 😦

(Day 27 catch up on Day 28): I write a Christmas card to a couple I used to see all the time in college, but pretty much haven’t talked with since then. Unfortunately, I don’t have their address to mail it but I’ve asked them and will mail it ASAP.

Thanks to everyone who’s participating. I can’t believe that November went by so quickly! There’s only a few days left in this month and this challenge – let’s finish strong!

Partner Posts

As I mentioned, I have bloggers partnering with me on this challenge – please take a moment to read their challenge updates as well!